


Consequences and Actions

by MnR



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Canon Divergence - Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Cause They Are A Family, Clint Barton Needs a Hug, Everyone Apologizes, Everyone Needs A Hug, Fix-It, M/M, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Ross is a jerk, Steve Rogers Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Apologizes, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, steve rogers apologizes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-03
Updated: 2016-09-01
Packaged: 2018-07-11 23:41:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 19,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7075468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MnR/pseuds/MnR
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Please consider the consequences of your actions," Vision had said as he approached Clint and Wanda.</p>
<p>"Okay. They're considered," Clint had said to him then. </p>
<p>And he had considered the consequences of his actions. He just never expected the consequences to be so bad. Now, after losing one family to his actions, Clint decides he has to put back together the only family he has left. The one that a single document had torn to pieces.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So while dealing with writer's block on my Clint/Loki fic, this little gem of a fix-it fic decided to rear its head up and demanded to be written. I have to put my favorite super-hero family back together.

Clint sat at a seedy bar in Hell’s Kitchen and knocked back his shot of vodka. Maybe it was stupid, being in New York, being so close to so many people who had a vested interest in either killing him or capturing him but he didn’t know where else to go. He tapped the bar for another shot and thought back to recent events.

*~~~~~*

_Clint hung up the phone after Steve’s brief phone call and looked at his wife. “Laura…”_

_“No! You promised me! You promised! After Sokovia, after the accords you said you were done!” Laura said shaking her head._

_“Cap needs my help. I have go.” Clint said with a sigh. “Laura you know I wouldn’t do this if it wasn’t…”_

_“No Clint, I really don’t. How many times are we going to have this conversation,” Laura said walking over to him and cupping his cheeks. “Clint… please.”_

_Clint sighed and kissed her forehead. “I’m sorry Laura. I have go. I owe a debt.” He pulled away from her._

_“I’m sorry too,” Laura said watching him head for the stairs. “I won’t be here when you get back Clint,” she said and saw him pause on the stairs. “I can’t compete… I guess I never could.”_

_*~~~~~*_

Clint tossed back the shot and sighed, if he was honest with himself she was right. The thrill of the fight, the adrenaline rush as he lined up his shot, he was never going to be happy settling down, living the life she wanted him to live, the life of a farmer. It might have been his grandparents, it might have been his parents, but it wasn’t him. Vision had told him to think about the consequences of his actions and he had thought them out. He knew he was losing Laura when he left to go save Wanda and pick up Scott, he just didn’t know he was going to lose everything.

*~~~~~*

_“…you’re grown up. You’ve got a wife and kids. I don’t understand why you didn’t think of them before choosing the wrong side,” Tony said looking through the glass at Barton._

_Clint’s eyes got wide and he looked ready to kill. He’d_ trusted _Tony with the information on his family. No one knew about his family and here Tony was, casually throwing the information around when he_ knew, _he knew that Ross had eyes on ears on all of them. He wasn’t mad at Tony before all this, not really. They were all just doing what they thought was right, but now. He got up and slammed his hands against the glass wall._

_“You better watch your back with this guy!” Clint exclaimed, anger dripping from each word. “Chances are he’s gonna break it!” He practically snarled, glaring Tony down as he moved away from Clint._

_*~~~~~*_

Tony had betrayed him, maybe not intentionally, the small part of Clint that wanted to still think there was good in Tony added in, but that didn’t stop what happened after he had been broken out of The Raft by Steve. It didn’t change the fact that not only did he lose his wife, he lost any shot at seeing his kids, possibly ever again. Not after Ross went to Laura. Not after he invaded Clint’s home, the only real safe place he’d ever had. He ordered another shot and downed it quickly trying to forget the phone call after he’d gotten free. But that conversation, the absolute despise in Laura’s tone, would be burned into his brain for the rest of his life.

*~~~~~*

_“Hello?” Laura asked, curious at the unknown number that was calling her cell phone._

_“Laura,” Clint said softly, there were so many things he wanted to ask, he wanted to say, yet at the sound of her voice he’d lost his train of thought completely._

_“Clint,” Laura said crisply, her voice like ice. “I hope it was worth it.”_

_“Laura, I had…”_

_“You_ had _to do_ nothing _Clint!_ NOTHING _! You risked everything for these people!” Laura yelled at him._

_“Laura! I had to. I know you don’t understand, and you never will. But these people are my family too!” Clint exclaimed softly._

_“Family! Well, enjoy them. They’re your_ only _family now,” Laura said harshly. “I talked to Ross.”_

_Clint’s heart stopped for a second, “You what?”_

_“I talked to Ross, he made it quite clear to me. We’re done Clint. I’ve already got the paperwork in order. I’m getting sole custody of the kids,” Laura told him without hesitation._

_Clint closed his eyes against the tears that threatened just then, she was taking his kids, “You can’t do this.”_

_“You made your choices Clint, the day you walked out that door, you showed me where your priorities were. They weren’t with us,” Laura told him. “You think a judge is going to side with an international fugitive over a distraught wife? Think again Hawkeye. You should have seen this coming,” she said hanging up on him._

_*~~~~~*_

Clint closed his eyes tightly, trying not to think about his kids. He wondered what Laura had told them, wondered how the felt, wondered if they thought that he’d abandoned them. God he really wanted to punch Tony right in his smug little bastardly face. He thought about that thought for a minute. That’s what he wanted to do. That’s what he was going to do. “Fuck it, I’ve already lost everything, if I get caught, it’ll be worth it,” he said to no one as he slapped cash down on the bar to pay for his tab and tip.

As he walked outside of the bar he knew he needed to figure out a way up to the compound, he was in no shape to drive. He pulled out his burner phone and dialed a number he knew from memory. “Kate… it’s Clint. I need a ride to the compound,” he said when she answered the phone. He knew she’d demand an explanation and he’d give it to her, after she picked him up.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So after watching Civil War 5 times... this chapter encompasses my personal theory on how everything tied together to tear the team apart with the Accords.

“Pull over here,” Clint said to Kate when they were about a mile from the compound.

“Are you sure you want to do this Clint?” Kate Bishop, also known as Hawkeye asked him. “Really sure?”

“Positive,” Clint said to her. “Now you know what to do right?” he asked her.

Kate gave him a look that plainly said ‘Do I look stupid?’ and scoffed, “I know. Drive up to Canada, stay the night, it’ll throw anyone off my trail,” she said to him. “Be CAREFUL Clint.”

“I know what I’m doing,” Clint said as he opened the door. “Thanks Kate,” he said with a smile.

“Thank me by not ending up in The Raft again! I’m not Captain America, I can’t bust you out,” Kate called to him.

“Got no plans to end up there again,” Clint said to her before disappearing into the woods, trekking up to the compound. He stopped at the door and hit the intercom. “Friday. Tell your boss I’m here.”

Friday came over the intercom in Tony’s office, “Boss. Barton is here,” she said in a tone that made it sound like she was in disbelief.

“Clint?” Tony asked setting down his scotch. “What the hell?” he said to himself as he got up and headed to the door and opened it. “Clint…”

“Hey man,” Clint said and then lashed out with a left cross, nailing Tony right in the eye, knocking him back into the compound.

“What the fuck!” Tony said as he was knocked clean on his ass. “The hell Barton?” He asked his hand covering his left eye as he winced in pain. “Seriously getting tired of black eyes,” he grumbled.

“I trusted you with my biggest secret you asshole,” Clint said glaring at him, hands clenched into fists as he fought the urge to just wail on Tony for what he did, intentional or not, and what it cost him.

“What are you…” Tony trailed off mid-sentence, their conversation in The Raft, he’d mentioned, oh, shit. “Son of a bitch,” he cursed looking up at Clint. “I may have deserved that. Shit, Clint, I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry?” Clint asked him. “Ross found her Tony. I knew going to help Cap I was losing her, but now…” he paused. “She took my fucking kids Tony! Sorry isn’t going to bring them back to me!” He said angrily and punched the wall in frustration, and to keep himself again from wailing on Tony.

“How did Ross even know where to…” Tony trailed off again and smacked his forehead. “Shit. Don’t hit me again Barton,” he said getting to his feet. “I called her after I went into the prison chamber. I wanted to let her know you were okay. I didn’t even think that Ross had the AV going outside the cells.”

“God dammit Tony,” Clint said with a groan. “For somebody so fucking smart!” He exclaimed shaking his head, “You can be a real idiot sometimes,” he finished with a sigh, running his hand through his hair. Even when Tony tried to do the right thing, it seemed to backfire on him.

“Mr. Stark… Clint,” Vision said coming through a wall. “Friday told me you were attacked,” he said looking over at Tony.

“I deserved it,” Tony said looking at Vision. “We’re fine.”

“He should not be here,” Vision said looking at Clint. “The Accords…”

“He’s an Avenger,” Tony reminded Vision. “It’s fine,” he told him. “Can you give us some time Vision?”

“Of course,” Vision said to Tony and nodded at Clint. “Welcome back Clint,” he said before leaving through the wall.

Clint sighed, “Such a warm welcome too.” He said dryly as Vision floated away. “I suppose I deserve it, I attacked daddy.”

Tony shut the door, “I am so not his father. You want a drink?” he asked as he started for his office.

“Probably shouldn’t, but God yes” Clint said following him into the office, watching as Tony put his tumbler to his eye and poured Clint a scotch. “I’ll probably apologize for that later,” he said nodding at the black eye blossoming around Tony’s left eye.

“I deserve it, already forgotten,” Tony said handing him the drink. “What are you even doing in New York anyway? I’m a wanted fugitive, so I’m going to hang out in the most likely place I’ll be caught,” he said sarcastically.

“I blend, I’ve been in New York since I got back to the States, they haven’t gotten me yet,” Clint said to him and sat down, sipping his drink. “There’s 8.5 million people in the city alone, they aren’t going to find me.”

“What about Romanoff? Is Nat with you?” Tony asked curiously. He hadn’t seen her since he warned her that Ross was coming for her and she went off on him, maybe deservedly so.

“Why would Nat be with me?” Clint asked raising an eyebrow. He hadn’t seen her since the airport battle.

“She let Cap and Barnes go, Ross is after her as much as he’s after the rest of you, I thought since you were partners, you’d be together,” Tony said sipping his drink. “Clint, I’m really…”

“I don’t want to hit you right now Tony, don’t make me change my mind, it’s off limits,” Clint said quickly. “As for Nat, she’s a ghost when she wants to be. He’s never going to find her.” He said comforted by the knowledge that if he knew one thing about Natasha Romanoff, it was she could only be found if she wanted you to find her.

“Good,” Tony said setting his drink down. “How did this happen?” he asked Clint after a few moments of uncomfortable silence. “What the hell happened to us?” He looked over at Clint. Clint had been his friend, maybe he still was. They had all been friends, they’d been a family, one that Tony cherished more than anything, even more than his relationship with Pepper. He closed his eyes and tried not to think about that.

“Zemo and those damn Accords Tony, that’s what the fuck happened to us,” Clint told him as he downed his drink. “Ross played us, all of us, like cards. He knew damn well Steve was never going to give up his freedom like that, and he knew you were so fucking guilty over Sokovia you’d do whatever it took to make things ‘right’,” he said bitterly, though his bitterness wasn’t directed towards Tony, but at the situation as a whole.

“When I met that woman and she blamed me for her son’s death,” Tony said closing his eyes. “I didn’t even see it coming, and then Ross shows up with the Accords almost like…” he trailed off as if a lightbulb had gone off in his head and his eyes popped open and he looked at Clint.

“Like it was planned?” Clint asked Tony, meeting his eyes. “Seems kinda funny that someone would guilt trip you with a dead son in Sokovia right before Ross shows up with the Accords,” he pointed out to him with a sigh. For the longest time, he had no shot lined up, no reason all of this had happened besides different viewpoints and Zemo in the end, but suddenly all the pieces were falling into place and the shot lined up perfectly. From the looks of things, his shot lined up at the same time Tony’s did too.

“She worked for the State Department,” Tony said standing up as he began to pace. “She told me, she told me she worked in the Human Resources department of the State Department,” he said looking over at Clint. “The State Department….”

“Which just so happens to be run by the Secretary of State right? The newly appointed ‘Thunderbolt’ Thaddeus Ross,” Clint said watching him pace and he got up, sitting on the desk to perch, he always thought better when he was perching. “What a coincidence right?”

“No… not a coincidence,” Tony said as he paced. “It was too perfect. Too perfect, someone from the State Department shows up, lays one hell of a guilt trip on me, right before Ross shows up with Accords? Accords we weren’t even told about until they were drawn up. Accords the U.N. was ready to ratify before we even had a chance to read them,” he said stopping in his tracts. “Son of a bitch. We were set up.”

“Never let it be said you aren’t a genius Stark,” Clint said biting back his sarcasm. But he was right, they had been set up. The Accords had been designed to play into Tony’s guilt and need for accountability, and Steve’s righteous determination to do the right thing, plus his experience with Hydra masquerading inside S.H.I.E.L.D..

“Steve’s report… Lagos,” Tony said suddenly. “Friday! Play footage from the Avengers fight in Lagos,” he said and the TV came on, showing the fight, the final fight between Rumlow and Steve. “He waited…” he said as he watched.

Clint nodded, watching intensely, eyes taking in every detail. “He waited until Wanda was nearby, look at him, watch his eyes, they’re not focused on Steve, not entirely,” he said pointing. “He had the bomb vest the entire time, why’d he wait?”

“He wanted Wanda there,” Tony said pausing the footage. “He sees her… behind Steve right there,” Tony said pausing the footage. “She walks up and…” he continued the footage and right then Rumlow hit the trigger on the bomb vest.

“He was waiting for her, he knew she’d try to contain the blast and save Steve,” Clint said climbing onto the back of the couch and sitting against the wall so he was further away from the TV. “Back it up to the point of ignition and look at the people surrounding them,” he said and waited for Tony to rewind the footage. “If Wanda hadn’t contained the blast, I count at least 60 people surrounding them who would have been in the blast radius, not to mention the lower floor of the building, which would have caused instability and could have brought the whole building down. Wanda trying to throw him up in the air…”

“Saved lives, saved more lives than the blast took,” Tony said replaying the footage. “The media twisted this, made it seem like she…” He trailed off. It wasn’t only the media who’d treated her that way. Maybe he deserved the cars she’d thrown at him at the airport in Germany.

“Was a dangerous enhanced, a weapon of mass destruction,” Clint asked, only feeling slightly petty at using Tony’s own words against him. Knock it off Barton, he scolded himself.

“Son of a bitch,” Tony said again. “Who was Rumlow working for? Why did they go after a bioweapon instead of the police station? That was their M.O. It was a cat and mouse game for months, but then he changed the game. Why now? Why change the game unless…”

“Unless there was a new end game,” Clint finished for him. “You turn the media against us, you turn the public against us. You turn the public against us, the governments of the world are going to have to do something to reassure the public of their safety. I’ll bet quarters to corncobs Ross was the main author of the Accords,” he said to Tony.

“You didn’t read them?” Tony asked in surprise. “And…” he paused. “Did you just say quarters to corncobs?”

“Fuck off. I’m from Iowa. You say dollars to donuts, I say quarters to corncobs,” Clint sighed. “I didn’t have to read the Accords. All I needed to know was we were signing our lives over to a government panel that decided when and where we could act,” Clint said to Tony. “As a lifer at S.H.I.E.L.D. I kinda had my fill of that.”

“I fucked up,” Tony said sitting back against his desk. “Ross played me like a cheap fiddle,” he said raking his hand through his hair. He looked utterly wrecked that it’d taken him this long to figure it out. That he’d let his family be torn apart like this.

“He played all of us Tony, it’s not all your fault, you’re not the only one who fucked up,” Clint said walking over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. “ALL of us could have handled this better,” he said softly.  

Tony tried to ignore how Clint’s hand felt on him and was about to respond when they were interrupted. “Boss! Two Joint Terrorism Task Force vans approaching the compound from the south,” Friday said over the intercom. “12 armed agents.”

“Son of a bitch!” Clint exclaimed going to the window, wondering what he was going to do, maybe he would wind up back at The Raft. Sorry Kate, he thought quickly. “Do I have time to make it to the woods?”

“Your hideout is still intact, go until I can get rid of these goons,” Tony said pointing to the vent in the wall. “Move your ass Barton, I’m not arresting you… I hate paperwork.”

Clint was on the back of the couch in a second, prying the vent cover off the vent shaft and climbing inside, replacing it quickly, “Hey man,” he said softly looking down at him through the vent cover.

“Clint?”

“Thanks,” Clint said before disappearing into the air ducts to his secret room that was only accessible through the ventilation.


	3. Chapter 3

Tony walked up to the compound door the agents were busy pounding on and opened it, “Can I help you gentleman? You should tell your boss a call would nice maybe? I could have put out a nice spread,” he said to the head agent fighting the urge to roll his eyes.

“Satellite imagery showed Clint Barton approaching the compound 20 minutes ago on foot,” The agent said to Tony.

“He was here, gave me this little number,” Tony said pointing to his eye. “Vision scared him off. Right Vis?” he asked as Vision walked up to the door. “He put Hawkeye into flight mode.”

Vision looked at Stark for a long moment and turned to the agents, “Friday reported that Mr. Stark was attacked, so I intervened,” he said to the agents.

“And you didn’t think to detain him?” The agent in charge asked suspiciously. He turned to another agent. “Report this to Ross. Confirmed sighting by Mr. Stark and Vision of Clint Barton. They let him get away.”

“I did not think a conflict at this point would be a good idea and…” Vision started to say.

“He was already ready to run, he just wanted to give me a little present,” Tony said cutting him off. “He was drunk, hard times for an international fugitive you know,” he said flippantly in his typical Tony Stark manor.

“Then surely you wouldn’t mind if we searched the compound for him?” The head agent said crossing his arms over his chest eyebrow raised in question. He didn’t believe Stark for one second that Barton wasn’t in the compound somewhere.

“Why would I mind?” Tony said pulling out his phone and sending a message to Friday to activate the infrared barrier around Hawkeye’s hiding spot, to keep infrared cameras from picking up on the heat signature in the room. “Vision, assist the agents in their search for the non-existent fugitive we’re harboring,” he said to him.

“Of course Mr. Stark,” Vision said and nodded at the agents to follow him. Internally he was questioning what he should do. Clint was hiding in the compound, but it was obvious that Tony didn’t want him to be found, which was odd considering how fractured they’d become. But maybe that was all changing. Still he was bound by the Accords, but at the same time, he didn’t want the agents to find Clint either.

“Boss, you have a phone call from Secretary Ross, priority level 1,” Friday said over the intercom.

“Put it through to my office,” Tony said walking away and into his office, quickly putting the drink glasses into the sink before they came to check it. He sat down at his desk and answered the phone, “To what do I owe this unexpected phone call too?” he asked Ross.

“You know damn well what Stark. Now where the hell is Barton?” Ross barked at him angrily.

“I don’t know. He showed up, clocked me in the face, and left. Horrible manors you know, but can’t expect much from a bastard like Barton,” Tony replied nonchalantly, keeping his tone as normal as possible even if he did want to tell Ross off like the bastard he knew Ross really was. Perspective change, he scoffed internally, perspective change my ass.

“Now why would he do that?” Ross asked him. “Why would he risk arrest to come punch you in the face?”

“I don’t know. You tell me? By the way… how IS Mrs. Barton,” Tony said the sarcasm dripping in his tone.

“Thank you for that by the way. We’d of never known about her without your help,” Ross said with a chuckle.

“I wasn’t helping you, you son of a bitch. I was trying to reassure her that her husband was going to be okay! So that’s your play? You tear the Avengers apart, and now you’re going after their families too?” Tony said unable to contain his anger at the entire situation any longer.

“What better way to bring a hawk back to nest then to go after his eyasses?” Ross asked Tony, the smirk evident in his tone, as if he was enjoying this all too much.

“I never should have trusted you,” Tony said to him angrily. “I’m not playing your games anymore Ross. You set us up to tear us apart, and I almost let it happen.” He did let it happen. He let himself be taken, as much as the others had as well, none of them had seen this coming until it was too late. He was going to make this right. He had too, even if he still felt betrayed by Steve. It still stung even if he was slowly coming to terms with everything.

“You signed the Accords Tony, you know the rules,” Ross said smugly as if he knew he had Tony backed into a corner and was just waiting for him to strike out at him. 

“With all due respect Ross, screw the rule, and screw you,” Tony said and slammed the phone down with a satisfying bang. “Shit…” he said running his hand through his hair. “20 bucks says Ross is ordering me captured right now,” he said to no one.

“Boss! New orders coming into the joint task force team. Ross want’s you brought in,” Friday came over the intercom in the office.

“Saw that coming,” Tony said hitting a button on his watch and holding out his arms as a panel opened and his suit flew out, surrounding him quickly. At that moment the door to his office was pushed open and he turned to face the agents at the door just as the faceplate closed on his suit. “Guys… can’t we just talk about this?” he asked as they came at him and he began to defend himself, using low powered repulse blasts to incapacitate the agents as more swarmed in.

At that moment the vent plate flew off the wall and Clint slid through, feet first as he kicked an agent away from Tony. “Can’t let you have all the fun now, can I?” he asked as he got to his feet next to Tony. Friday had told him that Tony was ordered to be captured and he had to help him, since this was technically his fault.  

“You know I can handle these guys with my eyes closed right?” Tony asked as they began to fight side by side, taking out the remainder of the agents.

“I owe these bastards,” Clint replied as he kicked the legs out from one of them and took out another with a left hook. “I owe you too,” he added punching a third agent in the gut.

“Well… I can’t argue that,” Tony said as they quickly made work of the dozen agents that were at the compound. “Well this was fun… I guess I have to arrest myself now,” he quipped. “Vision or Rhodey might do it if I asked nicely.”

“What the hell was this all about anyway?” Clint asked as he destroyed the agents’ communication devices. “All I got from Friday was you were ordered to be taken in for questioning in my sighting,” he told him.

Tony sighed, “I mouthed off to Ross,” he said flipping up his face plate. “He mentioned your kids, and I lost it.”

“He mentioned MY kids!” Clint exclaimed. “What’d he say?” He asked Tony. At Tony’s silence he glared at him. “Tony! What did he SAY!” He said walking over to stand toe to toe with him. “Tony!”  

“He said he was using the kids as bait, to capture you,” Tony said with a sigh.

“I’ve got to find them,” Clint said running scenarios in his head. Where Laura would be, any place she would have gone. He had to find them. He was so caught up in his own head he actually startled when Tony, out of the suit now, put his hand on his shoulder.

“You can’t go after them Clint, that’s exactly what Ross wants you to do,” Tony said softly. “Look I know you want to go. Hell I want to go. But we’d be walking right into his trap.” He said thinking logically. “None of us can afford to be caught now, not now that we know.”

“They’re my kids!” Clint said heatedly. “Tony, they’re my kids,” he said the anger fading quickly into resignation.

“I know,” Tony said his hand squeezing Clint’s shoulder gently. “Clint I swear, I will get you your kids back, if it’s the last thing I do,” he said softly. “I swear. But we have to think clearly.”

Clint sighed, “We can’t stay here, Ross wants you as much as he wants me now,” he said to Tony and couldn’t stop himself from leaning into Tony’s touch slightly. “I don’t suppose you know anything about roughing it?”

“I’m sorry have we met? Tony Stark, genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist,” Tony said raising an eyebrow.

“Ask a stupid question,” Clint said actually managing a small laugh. “We gotta move, before they figure out what happened here,” he said to him. “We probably have 20 minutes,” he told him. “Tops.”

Tony grabbed a briefcase that had one of his suits in it, “Okay, I’m ready,” he said to Clint. “You got a plan?”

“Not one you’re going to like,” Clint said as they headed for the door only to be stopped by Vision. “Vision. We gotta go,” he said to him.

“I shouldn’t let you go. Either of you. I signed the Accords,” Vision said to them though it sounded like he was fighting himself with those words.

“Vision, we were set up. Ross played us, all of us. The Accords were designed to tear us apart, and it worked. But we’re bigger than this, we’re better than this. We’re The Avengers, we’re a team and it’s damn well past time we started acting like it again,” Tony said to Vision. “Rhodey is at Columbia right now for more testing, you should make yourself scarce. I’ll contact you when I can,” he said to him.

Vision looked confused and concerned, “I did not factor in a ploy designed to tear us apart into my calculations,” he paused. “I erred,” he said quietly.

“None of us did, until it was too late. But we gotta go Vis, we can make this right but it’s gonna take all of us. You with us?” Clint asked him, shifting from foot to foot nervously, Vision was the only member of the team he could never get a read on.

“Go. I am with you. I shall make myself scarce until Mr. Stark contacts me,” Vision said after a long moment of contemplation.

“Thanks Vis,” Clint said grabbing Tony’s free hand and pulling him out the door and towards the woods.

“So, what is this plan again?” Tony asked him as he followed him into the woods.

“Have Friday hide us from the satellite views they got, I have to call my ride. We’re in for a walk,” Clint said as they made their way through the woods.

“Friday you heard him,” Tony said into his wrist, “Cover our tracks,” he told her. “You have a ride? And how far are we talking? You do know these are 500 dollar sneakers right?” Tony asked him as they trekked through the underbrush.

“I have a ride, and we’re talking a few miles, and before you even think about it. I’m not rubbing your feet when we get to the safe house,” Clint said to him as he pulled his phone out and dialed Kate’s number.

“You’re the one who got us into this mess, I think I deserve a foot rub after you make me walk for miles to escape Ross’ goons,” Tony complained.

“I’m on the phone Tony,” Clint said waiting for Kate to pick up. “Kate? You in Canada yet?”

“No. Why? Is this your one phone call?” Kate asked him as she pulled off to the side of the road.

“No. We need a lift,” Clint replied to her, looking over at Tony.

“Who’s Kate?” Tony asked poking him in the arm, earning himself a swat from Clint.

“We? Who’s we? Clint… what did you do,” Kate asked with a groan.

“Tony and I made up, and now Ross wants both of us. So turn around and come pick us up by mile marker 234,” Clint told her.

“You owe me so much Clint Barton,” Kate grumbled as she turned around and began the trek back to pick up the two Avengers.

Clint hung up, “We got a ride, come on Tony,” he said continuing on through the woods.

“Who’s Kate?” Tony asked again, wondering why he thought it was important to know this, but it was. He knew Clint and Laura was over, and he wondered if this was Clint’s new girl, and then he wondered why that mattered, and why he didn’t like it, and by the end of his wondering he’d missed Clint’s explanation entirely. “What?” He asked again.

“She’s my protégé. Met her while I was living in Brooklyn before moving to the Tower,” Clint explained again. “She’s a good kid…”

“Kid?” Tony asked feeling himself internally sighing in relief.

“She’s like 24, I call her a kid, she hates it,” Clint said with a chuckle. “She’s as good as I am with a bow and she’d trading on my name, doing the street-level stuff.”

“Huh…” Tony said thoughtfully. “Not a girlfriend?” He asked before he could stop himself.

“I’m old enough to be her FATHER Tony, that’s your deal not mine,” Clint said with a laugh.

“Nah, I got over that years ago. I had Pepper, but… I’m a handful,” Tony said with a shrug. “Like my ol’ man I guess, more than I care to admit.”

“Tony. You are nothing like your ol’ man, except maybe in the brains department,” Clint said putting his arm around him. “And in that respect, you’re better,” he told him.

“He tried you know, loved me the only way he knew how,” Tony said to Clint. “Admittedly, it was a sucky, sucky, sucky way, but I had my mom.”

“Be thankful for that,” Clint said as they continued to walk. “I lost my asshole father AND my mother when I was 6, foster homes after that until I was 10,” he told Tony.

“What happened when you were 10?” Tony asked curiously. Sure he’d read the S.H.I.E.L.D. files on all his teammates, but Clint’s was surprisingly lean on his pre-military days.

“Ran away, joined the Circus,” Clint said with a half shrug.

“Fine, don’t tell me,” Tony said rolling his eyes and shrugging Clint’s arm off his shoulders.

“No. I’m 100% serious. I. Joined. The. Circus.” Clint said to him. “Where do you think I learned to shoot a bow?”

“If you’re going to tell me this story, I have a feeling I’m going to need copious amounts of alcohol,” Tony said to him.

“Luckily for you, I have copious amounts of alcohol at the safe house,” Clint said to him. “Come on, less talking, more moving.” He said putting his arm around Tony again and helped him through the terrain to the side of the road, where Kate was waiting for them in her car.

“Copious,” Tony said climbing in the backseat.

“I have three bottles of that single malt scotch you like, plus everyone’s favorites,” Clint said to him. “My way of keeping everyone close, when they can’t be.”

“I like how you think Clint,” Tony said and poked his head into the front. “You must be Kate. The other Hawkeye.”

“The better Hawkeye,” Kate replied as she pulled out onto the highway.

“That’s to be debated kid, now come on, back to Yonkers,” Clint said to her and winced when she smacked him. 

“Of course your safe house is in Yonkers,” Tony said with a groan, flopping back into the seat. What a day, he thought to himself. I am so making Clint rub my feet. I just gotta get him drunk first, he added internally.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter was a bit longer than the first two. I hope you enjoyed. Coming soon. Angst. Alcohol. Foot rubs. And Steve. Finally.


	4. Chapter 4

“Love what you did to the place,” Tony said as they walked into practically condemned house in Yonkers Clint was using as a safe house. “Former crackhouse?” He quipped as he looked around.

“Don’t know, I needed a safe house, my contact came through, didn’t ask questions I didn’t want the answers too,” Clint said shutting the door and bolting it. “Alcohol is in the kitchen.”

“You owe me a story, something about a circus I believe,” Tony said heading straight for the kitchen and grabbing a bottle of his favorite liquor and a tumbler.

“I’ll give it to you on one condition,” Clint said grabbing a bottle of Hawkeye vodka out of the freezer.

“Nobody said anything about conditions,” Tony retorted taking a sip of his drink.

“You wanna hear about my Circus days or not?” Clint asked him.

“Okay what’s your condition?” Tony asked raising an eyebrow.

“That you put that burner phone I know is in your pocket to good use, and CALL Steve,” Clint said to him.

“No way, forget it. I can’t. I’m not ready. He protected the person who killed my FAMILY! You can’t ask me to do that!” Tony exclaimed downing his tumbler and pouring another one.

“He protected the love of his life! It’s what you do when you love somebody!” Clint exclaimed right back at him and then winced. “Shit… shit… shit… shit…”

“Love… wait… no,” Tony said shaking his head. “Are you telling me that Steve and the Manchurian Candidate…”

“Bucky,” Clint interrupted him.

“Can’t make me,” Tony replied back to him. “Steve and Barnes are lovers? How the? When the? What the hell? You’re killin’ me Clint!”

“Yeah well Cap is gonna kill me, I’m just passing it along,” Clint said taking another long swig out of his bottle.

“When did you find out?” Tony asked him curiously.

“After Steve busted us out of The Raft,” Clint said slouching onto the couch next to Tony. “Look, I know Bucky killed your parents…”

“Do we really have to talk about this right now?” Tony asked him with a frustrated sigh.

“Yes. You need to hear this,” Clint said just as firmly. “Do you blame me? For what I did before New York, do you blame me? I killed 20 agents, and 15 civilians, almost got Natasha killed unleashing the Hulk, took out two of the engines in the Helicarrier and nearly killed ALL of you, not to mention…”

“I get it! I get it,” Tony interrupted him. “No. I’ve never blamed you. You were a mind-puppet. Loki had you under the scepter’s control. It wasn’t your fault,” he said to Clint.

“It wasn’t Bucky’s either. Hydra would torture him, use electricity to wipe his mind, and they triggered him, mind-controlled him, used him just like Loki used me,” Clint said calmly to Tony. “Why are you still blaming him, when you never blamed me?”

“You didn’t kill my parents Barton,” Tony said with more bite then he intended too.

Clint pulled out his phone and opened up a file that Natasha had told him repeatedly not to look at, but he didn’t listen, because he never listened. “No… but I killed her father,” he said showing him a photo of an 11 year old girl. He swiped the screen to another child, a boy this time. “I killed his mother,” he said swiping the photo again. “She… she got ‘lucky’,” Clint said bitterly. “Both her parents were agents on the Helicarrier,” he said to Tony. “Left her an orphan. She was 9.”

“Okay! I get your point,” Tony said pushing the phone away. “But he should have told me! He should have told me!”

“Yes,” Clint said putting the phone away. “He should have told you. I tore into him about that. Hell I spent about 2 hours listing all the reason he should have fucking told you about it, until Bucky threatened to punch me in the mouth, because I made Steve cry” he said to Tony. “It was a shit thing to do. It’s still a shit thing to think about. If he would have told you when he found out, things could have gone different, for a lot of things.”

“Why didn't..." he paused, he had to have heard Clint wrong. "Wait, you made Steve cry?" Tony asked in shock. "Captain America?"

"Yes. Then Bucky threatened to punch me in the mouth and I figured I got my point across. Anyway..." Clint said waving his hand. "You were saying?"

"Why didn’t he tell me? Why didn’t he tell us? Not about my parents, I get it… I already got the apology letter,” Tony said with a sigh. “About Barnes and him? Why’d he hide it?”

“Do you know what happened to gay people in the 30’s and 40’s?” Clint asked Tony curiously. “Jail. The nuthouse. Chemical Castration. Those are the things that happened to you when the cops caught you. You got caught out on the street, death was another option,” he told him. “Hiding it becomes second nature, even among people you trust. Hell I know that, I grew up in Iowa… might be a half-progressive state now, but growing up in the 70’s, them THINKING you might like guys was enough for them to throw you a beating.”

“You ever get beat up for it?” Tony asked him curiously.

“Because I’m bi? Only once, when my dad caught me telling my ma that I thought Billy O’Mally was cute when I was 5,” Clint told Tony taking a long swig of his vodka. “In the circus, for all that it was… it was pretty progressive about that sort of thing.”

“You’re bi… seriously?” Tony asked, choking on his drink. “First Steve, now you…”

“Tony you realize before Nat was your P.A. I was shadowing you right? I know I’m not the only one in this safe house that bats for both teams,” Clint said to him with a smirk.

“You were shadowing me?” Tony asked with wide eyes.

“Yes, but that’s not the point. The point is… you have no room to talk about me being bi, or Steve being bi, and back to the OTHER point, you need to call Steve,” Clint said circling the conversation back to the beginning.

“What if Barnes answers the phone?” Tony asked Clint, his voice sounding small for his usual boisterous nature, “What am I gonna say to him?”

“You don’t have to worry about that. I have it on good authority that there is no way Bucky is going to be answering the phone as a Popsicle,” Clint said to him.

Tony wanted to question him on that, he actually had a thousand questions about that, but the one that spilled from his lips wasn’t one he intended on asking, “Was I really that wrong? To want supervision? A guiding hand on the wheel?” he asked Clint quietly.

“Honestly?” Clint asked him, and at Tony’s nod he continued, “No. I don’t think you’re wrong. I mean I had Phil as a handler at S.H.I.E.L.D. and I trusted him. In the military I trusted my C.O.,” he said to Tony. “But the running theme there is trust. Supervision is great, as long as we trust the hands guiding us. The Accords? We didn’t even know about them, let alone who was going to be in charge of us, controlling our missions.”

“You’ve got a point there,” Tony admitted with a sigh. “I was going to try to modify them. I wanted everyone back,” he said running his hand through his hair. “Then you came over and punched me, and Ross goaded me, he wanted me to mouth off and I did… fuck,” he said laying his head back. “Again, I played right into Ross’s hand. What the fuck is wrong with me?”

“You stood up for me, when you didn’t have to Tony,” Clint said nudging him with his shoulder. “I mean I punched you in the face, blamed you for getting my kids taken from me, and you still hid me from Ross’s goons and showed me how much you cared about me and my family by mouthing off to Ross. Nothing wrong with that if you ask me, then again I’m reckless and born without a back-up plan, so maybe I’m not the best person to ask.”

“No, no you’re not,” Tony said with a chuckle. “But I do care,” he said to Clint. “About you, about your kids, about everyone. I did what I thought was right, to keep something worse from happening, Ross told me it was coming, something worse,” he sighed. “Why didn't I see this coming?”

“You’re not psychic?” Clint replied with a shrug. “You said you were willing to do whatever was necessary to put us in check, I don’t think you meant it though.”

“Not like this, with half of us hidden away, being hunted down by the government,” Tony said sipping his drink.

“Something isn’t sitting right with me,” he said suddenly, as if a lightbulb went off over his head. “They handed us the Accords, pre-written, no warning, with 3 days to decide our livelihood,” he said getting up to pace. “Those Accords were hundreds of pages long, you can’t write that in a week,” he said walking back and forth in front of Clint.

“No, no you can’t, but they were called the Sokovian Accords right? So probably since at least then,” Clint pointed out.

“Right, but why keep them a secret, why not let us in on this, why hide it and then spring it on us after a bad out in Nigeria?” Tony said looking over at him.

“If we had any say in them, they’d look a hell of a lot different probably,” Clint pointed out. “By shutting us out, they got ultimate say,” he said and closed his eyes. “Stop pacing you’re making me motion sick.”

Tony plopped down onto the couch next to Clint, “Ultimate control, that’s great, but there’s something bigger here,” he said looking up at the ceiling. “Friday,” he said tapping his watch. “Contact Vision. I want every memo, every email, every conversation, every spec of detail on The Accords in all its forms from Ross. Vision can go anywhere on the net, I need him to go hunting. Send it all to me, secure line to the phone.”

“On it boss,” Friday responded to him.

“You think it’s more than ultimate control and divide and conquer don’t you?” Clint asked him and patted his lap and looked at Tony’s feet.

Tony moved on the couch and put his feet in Clint’s lap, “Never thought you’d actually do this ya know?”

“Yeah well, you think better when you’re relaxed, and I need you thinking,” Clint said as he began on the pressure points on Tony’s feet. “So, word vomit, what do you got?”

“This wasn’t put together by the new Secertary of State in a heartbeat, it wasn’t even put together after Sokovia, Sokovia might have been when the U.N. got involved, but I think this is goes beyond that, Ross has always only been after one thing, ONE person,” Tony said looking over at Clint.

“Banner,” Clint said to him. “We kept him off Bruce’s trail before New York, but afterwards,” Clint paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. “Afterwards he was back on the grid, but he was protected. We just saved the world from an alien invasion and he was staying with you at Stark Tower.”

“Avengers Tower,” Tony reminded him. “I wouldn’t let Bruce go back into hiding, not after he saved my life, so he was back on the grid, and back on Ross’s radar,” he said to Clint groaning when Clint found a tender spot. “How are you so good at this?”

That groan should not be turning me on, Clint thought to himself as he continued to rub Tony’s foot. “Natasha… after missions we’d soak in a hot tub and I’d rub her feet,” he said to Tony. “Back to the matter at hand, we were all protected by S.H.I.E.L.D,” he said to Tony. “We were untouchable, it wasn’t until…”

“It wasn’t until S.H.I.E.L.D. fell that we became a private organization, and touchable by any of the governments in the world,” Tony finished for him as his eyes drifted shut. “I won’t know more until Vision can get me the information, but… I think it’s time we put the team back together, and find Bruce.”

“Then you need to do something about it,” Clint said watching Tony’s relaxed face and wondering to himself when Tony became that hot, not wanting to admit he’d always thought Tony was that hot. But he was unavailable and Tony was unavailable and now neither of them were taken and his body was very keen on changing that.

“What’s that?” Tony murmured sighing contently.

“Call Steve,” Clint said patting his leg.

“Can’t I do it in the morning?” Tony whined nudging him with his foot. “I’m drunk and tired and I just solved half our issues and I saved you from going to jail and walked a million miles today and dealt with TWO Hawkeyes and….”

“Fine, fine, god when did your whining become sexy?” Clint said not realizing he said that aloud.

Tony’s eyes popped open, “You think my whining is sexy?” He asked looking over at him and smirk playing on his lips.

“I did not mean to say that out loud, fuck I’m more buzzed than I thought,” Clint said with a groan.

“You think I’m sexy,” Tony said sitting up and moving closer to him.

“Don’t know what you’re talking about Stark,” Clint said shaking his head.

“You think I’m gorgeous… you want to kiss me… you want to hug me…” Tony said with a smirk moving even closer.

“Did you seriously just quote me Miss Congeniality?” Clint asked raising an eyebrow. “Okay, I think it’s bed time,” he said standing up.

“Wait, you promised to tell me how you wound up in the circus,” Tony said standing up.

“I’ll tell you in the morning, bedroom is the second door on the right,” Clint said backing up as Tony moved towards him.

“I am NOT sleeping in this crack house…”

“SAFEHOUSE!”

“Semantics… I am NOT sleeping in this place by myself, are you nuts?” Tony said to him.

“Fine, come on,” Clint said heading for his bedroom, Tony on his heels. This is a bad idea Barton. Huh, Bad Idea Barton should be my new name. I’m full of them apparently. Reckless and born without a backup plan and now you’re buzzed AND Tony knows you think he’s hot, this is so not going to end well. He thought to himself as they made it to the bedroom. “I need the can, pick your side,” he said heading for the bathroom.

“I prefer the top,” Tony said with a smirk causing Clint to actual make a squawking noise before he shut the door to the bathroom. He stripped down to his boxers leaving his watch on in case Friday tried to contact him.

Clint came out a few minutes later in a pair of threadbare S.H.I.E.L.D. sweats and not much else. “It’s all yours,” he said as he sat down on the bed.

“The bathroom or your ass,” Tony asked with a smirk and laughed when Clint flipped him off. “No, I’d rather fuck you if it’s all the same to you,” he said disappearing into the bathroom.

Clint rolled his eyes, "Ass!" he called as he laid back on the bed, getting as comfortable as he could on the old mattress. He closed his eyes and felt the bed dip as Tony slid in next to him right up against him. “Hands!” he exclaim when Tony’s tried to cop a feel of his ass.

“Fine, fine, only because we’re drunkish and I want you sober,” Tony said and laid on his side looking at Clint, “So, tell me a story, preferably about you and the circus.” He said looking at Clint attentively.

Clint sighed, “So after my parents died, my brother and I were put into foster homes, after half a dozen or so, we were in a really bad one, the dad beat us our own dad used too, so Barney grabbed me and our bikes and we rode away as fast as we could and we road to this circus that was in town. Our foster dad was chasing us down though, and he tried to grab us. But these two men who worked for the circus, Buck and Jacques, threw him a beating and he left,” he said to Tony biting his lip as the thought back to those days, when he’d been scared all the time.

“Jesus Christ,” Tony said softly. “It sucks you had to deal with that,” he said putting his hand on Clint’s arm.

“What doesn’t kill you ya know?” Clint said with a half shrug. “Anyway, Buck was known as Trickshot, and Jacques The Swordsman,” he told Tony. “They took us in, we became roustabouts, and they began to train us, me and Barney, but I took to a bow and arrow like I was made for it, and Trickshot made me his protégé.”

“That’s when you started using a bow?” Tony asked, enraptured by the thought of a young Clint, learning how to shoot a bow and arrow. “I can picture it,” he said with a grin.

“I learned how to shoot a bow, throw knives and use a sword, all of it. I finally got my own attraction, and my codename, ‘Hawkeye! World’s Greatest Marksman’” Clint said rolling his eyes.

“So that’s where you got Hawkeye from?” Tony asked with a smile.

“Yeah,” Clint said with a nod. “Then one day, I met a girl, Laura,” he smiled softly. “She encouraged me to do more with my life than be a traveling circus act,” he told Tony. “So, I left the circus and I joined the military, became one of their top snipers,” he said with a smirk. “I was in for a few years, doing black ops stuff, ya know… the government will deny, yada yada yada,” he laughed. “Anyway, I found out Laura was pregnant with Cooper, and I wanted an out. I don’t know how he knew, but one day Phil shows up at my barracks.”

“Coulson?” Tony asked just to make sure.

Clint nodded, “Yeah, shows up out of the blue and says S.H.I.E.L.D. could use somebody with my talents, and gives me the out I wanted. Of course I knew about S.H.I.E.L.D. because as somebody who ‘didn’t exist’ I knew all sorts of other people who ‘didn’t exist’” he said to Tony. “So I told him I was in, but I needed a place for my family, someplace off the radar, even for people who ‘don’t exist’” he said with a sigh.

“That’s how you got the farm,” Tony said amazed at Clint’s life story. He’d been through so much, seen so much, and yet he was still going, he still had a desire to go, just like Tony did.

“I had the farm, it was my grandparents, Fury just made it ‘disappear’ for me, so that Laura and eventually all the kids would be safe. Worked pretty well,” Clint said with a smile.

“Till I fucked it up for you,” Tony said biting his lip. “Clint I am so…”

Clint put his finger to his lips, “Tony, I don’t blame you anymore, okay. You were letting Laura know I was alive, that I was gonna be alright. It’s not your fault that Ross used that to fuck up things to exponential proportions.”

“Still…” Tony sighed, “If I could have waited…” he was silenced this time not with fingers but with Clint’s lips pressed against his own. He was so shocked that for a second he couldn’t respond but then he began to kiss him back softly, tentatively, hand sliding up Clint’s back to tangle into his hair.

“Sometimes,” Clint whispered against his lips. “You think too much,” he said before kissing him once more, pulling Tony even closer. Reckless and without a backup plan seemed to be working pretty well right now, Clint thought to himself as he let Tony take the lead.

About an hour later, Tony finally pulled away, panting softly. They had been making out for the entire time and he knew if he didn’t stop they’d be at it all night, and tonight of all nights was not the time, regardless of his body protesting the idea. “I don’t know the last time I did that,” he whispered softly.

“Me either,” Clint admitted breathlessly. “Any regrets?” he asked licking his lips.

“Only that I’m stopping because we have work to do and we’re going to need the sleep,” Tony said to him with a smirk.

“Yeah, that’s mine too,” Clint admitted as he laid his head on Tony’s shoulder.

“We’ll talk about this… about us… tomorrow,” Tony said as he kissed the top of Clint’s head.

“Alright, after you call Steve,” Clint said and laughed when Tony tugged on his hair. “What, you think a fantastic teenage make out session is gonna make me forget?”

“Go to sleep Barton,” Tony said with a groan as he closed his eyes.

“Night Tony,” Clint said closing his eyes, one arm thrown across Tony and positioned in the bed so that he would be the first target from the bedroom door, a habit that had been engrained in him since his army days.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The plot thickens, or unfolds, or does loop de loops. Bonus teenage makeout session because my guys can't wait apparently. Next chapter. Steve. Made up languages. B&E for a good cause. More plot.


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning, Clint was up before Tony and had made his way to the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee and try to find something for breakfast. He was busy making scrambled eggs and sipping out of the pot of coffee when Tony came into the kitchen. “You’re hogging the coffee,” Tony said with a whiney groan.

“You had your tongue down my throat last night and you’re worried about backwash?” Clint asked handing him the pot. “How do you like your eggs?”

“Poached with a lovely Hollandaise sauce,” Tony said drinking out of the pot.

“I was being facetious, I can only make them scrambled,” Clint said with a laugh as he slid the dish his way.

“That’s a 50-cent word right there,” Tony quipped with a smirk.

“Proud product of a 5th grade education right here,” Clint said with a smirk of his own.

“You never… wait circus right,” Tony said with a nod. “Wait how’d you make it into the military?” He asked him curiously.

“I squeaked in before they tightened their enlistment rules to require a diploma or GED,” Clint told Tony. “I scored high on the aptitude and that helped,” he added with a shrug.

“Some things can’t be taught in school,” Tony said with a smile. “So… you and me,” he said looking over at him.

“I always thought you were hot, even when I was shadowing you,” Clint said with a smirk. “But I was married, and then you had Pepper, which by the way? What the hell happened there? I thought you two were solid,” he said as he took the plates to the sink.

“I told her I would stop, after the Mandarin I destroyed all my suits, but then HYDRA was in S.H.I.E.L.D. and we had to find the scepter, and then, and then, and then, I never stopped… the truth is I don’t WANT to stop,” Tony said with a sigh. “I thought the Accords would split the difference, but…”

“When Steve called me in, I told him he was doing me a favor. I promised Laura after Sokovia I was done, but I was bored, I was complete bored off my ass and turning everything into a crisis because I’m not built to stop,” Clint said looking over at him. “You know, Wanda aside, either one of you called me, I’d of probably jumped to help, just to get off the damn farm.”

Tony sighed, “I locked her up like she was a naughty child,” he said thinking about her. “Ross wanted her taken in to some facility, to be studied, I thought keeping her at the compound with Vision was a better alternative.”

“It was, but it was still a prison,” Clint said with a sigh of his own. “I’m not sorry I rescued her, I owe her, I’ll owe her for the rest of my life.”

“I’m not sorry either, best thing you could have done for her,” Tony said with a small smile. “You got her over her fears, let her embrace her powers again.”

“Well I’m not Cap, but I give a good pep talk when the mood strikes me,” Clint said with a chuckle. “Speaking of….”

“I know, I know,” Tony said pulling the burner phone out of his pocket. “What do I say to him? I’ve ran over this scenario a million times in my head, and I still don’t know what to say,” he said looking up at Clint, completely lost as he held the phone almost too tightly in his hand.

“Tell him you’re not interested in rehashing the past, but you want to salvage the future,” Clint said sitting down next to him. “Tell him what we know about Ross, tell him we need to put our differences aside and bring the team together because if we don’t stand together, we’re not going to be able to stand at all. You’re a good man Tony, you were doing what you thought was right. Ross fooled all of us, and Zemo knew exactly how to trigger both you and Steve. But we’re bigger than our differences, we’re better than this, we’re the fucking Avengers, and its past time we started acting like a team again, like the family we were.” He said looking Tony in the eyes. “Laura said to me once, I had to make sure this team was really a team, and that you would have my back. I believe that. We’re a team and beyond that we’re a family, and you guys are the only family I have left right now, and I’ll be dammed if I don’t fight till my last breath to put my family back together,” he said firmly.

Tony leaned over and pulled him into a quick but passionate kiss, “You do give a good pep talk,” he whispered pulling back. “Okay, I can do this,” he said opening up the flip phone and finding the only number programmed into the phone. “I can do this.”

“You can do anything,” Clint said taking his hand.

“Right,” Tony said squeezing his hand as he hit the call button on the phone and listened to it ring. He thought for sure voicemail would pick up but suddenly the phone stopped ringing.

“Hello Tony,” Steve said quietly, sounding as nervous as Tony felt.

“Cap,” Tony said and was quiet for a minute, trying to find the words to say. He felt Clint give his hand another squeeze and he took a deep breath. “How’ve you been?” He asked, deciding to play it safe.

“I’ve been better, you?” Steve asked him, and Tony thought he sounded lost, and so young, so fucking young. It was hard to remember that Steve may be turning 98, but he’d only been awake for 30 or so years.

“Oh ya know, living it up,” Tony said flippantly. “Clint punched me in the face, I mouthed off to Ross, I’m a wanted fugitive just like you guys now. Speaking of, how are you and the Manchurian Candidate…”

“Bucky,” Steve interrupted.

“Can’t make me,” Tony replied. “And…”

“Tony! Back up, did you just say Clint punched you in the face and you’re a wanted fugitive?” Steve asked him in shock.

“Your hearing going in your old age grandpa…ow,” Tony winced when Clint kicked him in the leg. “Clint just kicked me, he’s so on the couch tonight…ow,” he gasped again when Clint kicked him again. “Knock it off sugarlips,” he said to Clint and ducked a swat from Clint and got up to lean against the counter.  

“Tony are you drunk?” Steve asked trying to wrap his head around the conversation. “Start from the beginning, please,” he said with a sigh and you could tell by the tone of his voice he was either pinching the bridge of his nose or that he wanted too.

“Clint got drunk and punched me in the face,” Tony said to Steve. “I deserved it, Ross got to Laura.”

“Tony,” Steve said with a sigh. “Are you alright?” he asked in concern. “Is Clint alright? Is Laura alright?”

“Laura is severely pissed at our dear Hawk. As for Clint and I, we totally made up… with tongue even,” Tony quipped and danced out of the way of Clint attempting to swat at him again. “Anyway, before the tongue, Ross sent a goon squad to the compound because they found out Clint was there. I mouthed off to Ross, he basically said he was using Clint’s kids as bait and I went off on him, beat up his goons…”

“I helped,” Clint reminded him and rolled his eyes when Tony blew him a kiss.

“As I was saying, I beat up his goons with Clint’s help. So now I’m one of you guys, and I’m in a crackhouse that Clint is trying to pass off as a safehouse in Yonkers right now,” he told Steve.

“I… I don’t even know what to say to that,” Steve said to him. “Are you guys okay?”

“We’re fine, Clint even cooked me breakfast. We’ve got bigger fish to fry. Ross is definitely not on the up and up,” Tony told Steve. “I didn’t see it before, I was feeling too guilty to even think about it, The Accords, the time frame, all of it. Ross knew half us weren’t even going to consider signing, he was setting up to split us apart from the start, and then Zero came in and finished the job.”

“You think they’re connected?” Steve asked in concern.

“No, Zemo was a lone wolf, but he was the nail in our coffin and unless we can get past it, it really is going to be the nail in the coffin of the Avengers,” Tony said to Steve. “We need you Cap, it’s gonna take all of us to fight this, to fix this.”

“Tony I know I said it in my letter, but I’m sorry…”

“I’m not trying to rehash what happened,” Tony said interrupting him. “I know you’re sorry. I know Bucky is the love of your life…”

“Excuse me?” Steve asked, his voice actually cracking.

“Clint told me when he was defending you, slip of the sexy tongue,” Tony replied. “No judgement, actually explains a lot. So you and the one-armed…”

“Tony,” Steve said warningly. “His name is Bucky,” he said exasperatedly.

“I am not calling the world’s most feared assassin Bucky, you can’t make me,” Tony said and continued right on. “How is he anyway?”

“In cryostasis,” Steve said softly, as if it pained him to say that about the love of his life.

“The fuck?” Tony asked in shock. “What the hell? You put him in the freezer! The guy has probably most of the last 70 years as a Bucksicle and you…”

“Tony! Tony! Tony!” Steve said finally interrupting him. “I didn’t do it! He wanted to go back in. He said until we can find a way to remove the HYDRA triggers inside his head, he doesn’t want to hurt anyone again. He said he can’t trust his own mind,” he said softly, sounding utterly wrecked and broken having to think about Bucky frozen again, even with T’Challa’s assurances it was safer than the type of cryostasis that HYDRA had used on him.

Clint put his hand on Tony’s shoulder, “Relax,” he said softly.

“This is no good, not at all,” Tony said shaking his head. “Where are you?”

“Tony, it’s just the way it has to be,” Steve said softly.

“Bullshit… Where. Are. You?” Tony said, his mind already spinning with ideas on how he could help Bucky and Steve.

“I’m not in the States, Tony,” Steve said tentatively.

“Doesn’t matter, we’ll come to you, after we round up the gang, I might need Wanda for this,” Tony said to him.

“Wanda? Wait what? Tony what do you need her for?” Steve asked him.

“To fix your Bucksicle,” Tony said with a groan. “Keep up Cap, keep up. Now tell me where you are,” he said to him. “Time is a wasting.”

“I’m in Wakanda. How do you expect to get here Tony? You’re a fugitive remember?” Steve said pinching the bridge of his noise again.

“I’m still Tony Stark. You leave that to me, now where are the others?” Tony asked him.

“I know where the others are, except for Natasha, but I can find her,” Clint said to Tony.

“Never mind, Clint’s got it covered. I’ll call T’Challa when we’re nearing Wakanda…”

“Tony!”

“It’ll probably take us the better part of a week maybe longer, anyway I’ll be in touch soon,” Tony said to him. “See you soon Steve,” he said hanging up. “So… how good are your breaking and entering skills?”

Clint was staring at him in shock, “You’re going to fix Bucky?”

“Where were you in that conversation? Yeah and probably see if T’Challa will hand over some of that vibranium so I can make him a new arm too, a better arm. I can built something 100 times better than HYDRA,” Tony said waving his hand. “Catch up Clint… B&E,” he said to him.

“Pretend for one second that I’m not in your head and explain what your plan is, please,” Clint said watching him act, well act like himself for the first time since he’d seen him again.

“BARF,” Tony said to Clint. “By narrowly Augmented Retro Framing” he said seeing Clint’s blank expression. “I know, crap acronym but anyway, my 600 million dollar therapy. Its glasses that hijack the hippocampus to clear traumatic memories,” he explained. “We can use the glasses and Wanda’s mental mind witchyness to deprogram our Manchurian Candidate Popsicle. We remove the triggers, he’s not a threat to anyone, he’s safe out of cyrostasis and I never have to hear Steve sounding like that ever again,” he said with a sigh.

“That bad huh?” Clint asked Tony, biting his lip.

“How would you feel? First you find out Hydra’s turned the love of your life into an assassin, then he tries to kill you, then he disappears for two years, and you find out he’s been tortured and brainwashed, frozen and programmed. Then you FINALLY find him and you have him back and I nearly kill him, and then he decided to turn himself back into a popsicle because he’s a danger to the world,” Tony said running his hand through his hair.

“I’d feel pretty shitty,” Clint said walking over to him and sliding his arms around him. “So where are we breaking and entering?”

“Avengers Tower. I had Friday check on it when I woke up. It’s on complete lockdown by a squad of JSOC guys. That’s where the glasses are and that’s where Cap’s shield is, we need both. Also there is still a Quinjet on the roof. We grab that, put it in stealth and pick up the rest of our team, go to Wakanda and get our Captain and his Bucksicle, and expose Ross.” Tony said kissing him quickly. “Easypeasy.”

“Right,” Clint said with a nod, knowing it was going to be anything but easy. “Well I’m already an international fugitive, what’s a little B&E on top of that,” he said with a shrug. “I gotta make a phone call, then we can go.”

“Who are you calling?” Tony asked curiously watching Clint pull out his burner phone and dial a number. His jaw dropped when Clint began talking in a language that he couldn’t identify. “Friday. What language is that?” he asked her.

“I don’t know boss,” Friday said after a minute. “I ran it through the known languages database and came up with squat. Gonna have to ask your boyfriend.”

“Right,” Tony said and when Clint hung up he cocked his head to the side. “What were you speaking?”

“Mine and Nat’s secret language,” Clint said with a shrug. “Left her a message that we need her, also to check on the kids for me.”

“Okay, but what’s your secret language? I’ve never heard anything like it and even Friday doesn’t know what it is,” Tony said to him, the curiosity eating him up.

“Of course she doesn’t, we made it up,” Clint said with a chuckle.

“A whole language. You made up a whole language,” Tony said in shock.

Clint nodded, “It’s the only way to ever truly know you won’t be overheard and understood. Nat and I came up with it about a year after she joined S.H.I.E.L.D.” he explained. “We were tired of the bugs in our apartments prying on our conversations.”

“I’m getting the whole story on that later,” Tony said to Clint.

“I’ll tell you after we get your glasses and the shield. This is gonna take planning. Let’s get to work,” Clint said to him.

“I’m holding you to that,” Tony said to him as they sat down at the table and began to plan their break in to Avengers Tower. In the back of his mind, his thoughts kept wandering to Steve, amazed at everything his friend, because let’s face it Steve was still his friend, was going through. He hoped Steve wasn’t entirely alone in Wakanda and had somebody there for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tony's getting his mojo back. Steve is confused. Coming up next, Steve needs a hug and a translator for Tony's phonecall. Natasha pays her favorite ex-sister-in-law a visit. And of course, who doesn't like a little B & E.


	6. Chapter 6

It had been almost 20 minutes since Steve had gotten off the phone with Tony, but he was still sitting next to Bucky’s cryo-chamber, staring at the phone in disbelief. Tony had gone from nervous to hyper-verbal in 2.5 seconds and he was still processing everything Tony had told him.

T’Challa walked into the room Bucky was being kept in, “Steven, you missed our usual sparring session,” he said and stopped short when he saw him staring at the phone. “Is something wrong my friend?”

“Tony called me,” Steve said looking up at T’Challa. “He… he’s with Clint. He said he’s a fugitive now too. And he’s going to help Bucky,” he said in shock.

“I knew our friend Stark was wanted, my ambassador to the U.N. let me know this morning,” T’Challa told him. “Do you trust him? After all that has happened?”

“I never stopped trusting him T’Challa,” Steve said with conviction. “He believed The Accords were the right thing to do when I couldn’t give up control like that. It didn’t mean I didn’t trust him. He said he’s rounding up the team and coming here. He also said Ross isn’t on the up and up.”

“I would have to agree with our friend’s judgement in that respect, I have been doing some research on The Accords,” T’Challa said to him. “I didn’t want to tell you unless I found something pertinent.”

“Did you?” Steve asked him curiously. “Find anything important?”

“Only that a very rough draft of what is now The Accords was sketched out and submitted to S.H.I.E.L.D by General Ross 3 months after the incident in New York with Loki and the Chitauri,” T’Challa told Steve.

“Wait, New York? S.H.I.E.L.D.? That was four years ago!” Steve said with wide eyes.

T’Challa nodded, “Your Director Fury less than politely told him to, how do you Americans say it, blow it out your rear,” he said with a chuckle.

“Perspective, change of heart, it was all a smokescreen, but what’s his play?” Steve asked T’Challa.

“I am still working on that my friend,” T’Challa said to him. “But it is good that your friends are making their way here. They will all be protected and you all can air your grievances and find peace once more.”

“Yeah,” Steve said with a sigh. “T’Challa, Tony said he and Clint got into a fight, but they made up with tongue. Do you know what that means?” he asked him curiously.

T’Challa let out a barking laugh, “Ooh my friend, sometimes I forget you have been frozen for so long,” he said putting his hand on Steve’s shoulder. “What is the first thing you did with your Bucky when you got some alone time here in Wakanda?”

“Got my ear chewed off for kissing Sharon,” Steve said wincing at the memory of Bucky giving him crap for kissing not only some dame, but Peggy’s niece.

“Okay, what was the second thing you did,” T’Challa said to him with a smile.

“We made up, he kissed me,” Steve said with a blush. “Said he had to reclaim my lips.”

“What kind of kiss,” T’Challa pressed on watching Steve’s blush intensify.

“He shoved his tongue…” Steve paused. “Ooooooooh.” He said and got quiet for a minute. “Tony and Clint?” He asked in shock. “I don’t even…” he trailed off.

“Perhaps it is a good thing yes?” T’Challa said with a smile. “Our friend Stark mentioned to me that Ms. Potts didn’t understand why he couldn’t stop trying to save the world.”

“Clint said I did him a favor, calling him in when we needed the manpower,” Steve mused thoughtfully. “I don’t think retirement was suiting him well either.”

“Then perhaps finding a kindred soul in each other is a good thing? Both know the other would never ask them to stop saving the world,” T’Challa theorized.

“Yeah but they’re both bastards,” Steve said with a laugh. “I’d think they’d kill each other before making time with each other.”

“My grandfather used to say that,” T’Challa laughed. “Making time with my grandmothers.”

“I’m still adjusting,” Steve said with a soft chuckle and looked over at the cryo-chamber that Bucky was resting peacefully in. “I searched for him for so long, and now he might as well be gone again,” he said putting his hand on the cool glass. “I saved him, only to lose him again.”

“In my culture, Sekhmet is not only a warrior goddess, but one of healing as well. I have meditated every morning that she bring healing to your friend,” T’Challa said to him. “I believe in fate, perhaps in her own way, Sekhmet is bringing your family together to heal not only your friend but you as well.”

“I told Tony the Avengers were more his family than mine. I told him that I believed in the individual, but…” Steve trailed off with a sigh. “I miss them all. Not that I don’t appreciate your hospitality T’Challa…”

“I know my friend, you do not have to feel guilty over missing your family,” T’Challa assured him. “As wonderful as my palace is, I know it is just a gilded prison of sorts.”

“I should be out there, helping Tony, helping Clint. God Tony said Laura is pissed at him, he’s got a family, he shouldn’t be…” Steve said getting up and beginning to pace.

“Steven, he made his decision, just as Tony did, just as we all did,” T’Challa said putting a hand on his shoulder to stop his pacing. “You are where you need to be. Now come, let us work out our frustrations in the sparring ring,” he said heading for the door.

Steve sighed, “Yeah,” he said walking over to the cryo-chamber and putting his hand on it once more. “I’ll be back sweetheart,” he said softly and headed out with T’Challa, one last look at Bucky before he shut the door of the room and followed him down the hallway.

 

*~~~~~*

 

Laura Barton awoke at 7:30 on the dot, aiming to get up and get breakfast made before her kids woke up. She walked down the stairs of her temporary home in California, intent on pouring herself a large cup of coffee. She wouldn’t admit it, but she was as much of a coffee drinker as her ex-husband. She turned away from the coffee pot to head to the breakfast nook and screamed, putting her hand to her mouth to muffle her cries, the coffee cup falling from her hand and shattering on the floor. “Natasha! Jesus! You nearly gave me a heart attack!” she exclaimed. “You can’t be here! The guards, they’ll find you, they’ll…”

“Be nursing nasty headaches when they wake up from their nap,” Natasha said from her seat at the table.

“The house is…”

“Bug jammer,” Natasha said holding up the black box in her hand. “Now, we need to talk,” she said setting the box down and crossing her arms over her chest. “I was wrong about you.”

“Natasha. You have to understand…” Laura started to say, biting her lip.

“Ooh I understand. You always thought Clint would settle down one day, you could live the quiet life, raise your kids in peace. But you realized after S.H.I.E.L.D. fell that, that wasn’t going to happen. You tried… he tried, he promised you after Ultron he was done. But you and I both know Clint doesn’t know how to settle down,” Natasha said understandingly. “Even Clint knew when he went to help Steve he was losing you.”

“I couldn’t compete, and it wasn’t fair for either of us to try,” Laura said grabbing the broom to clean up the remnants of her coffee cup.

“I get that,” Natasha said with a nod. “What I don’t get,” she said her tone going from understanding to ice in less than a second. “Is you taking the kids from him,” she said coldly. “You know damn well he is a good father! You know damn well regardless of whatever the media, whatever Ross says about him, he’s a good father and he deserves to see his kids!”

Laura froze at her tone, she knew upset Natasha, she knew furious Natasha, but this was new, this… this was a reminder of exactly what Natasha was capable of when it came to the short list of people she loved, the short list of people she trusted, the short list of people she’d kill for. “I did it to protect him,” she said looking over at her.

“What?” Natasha asked, it obvious in her tone that whatever she was expecting, she wasn’t expecting that.

“When Ross found me, at the farm, he told me that Clint would never abandon his kids,” Laura said to her. “Wherever I went he was going to wait, because he knew Clint would come back, if not to work things out with me then to see his kids,” she said sitting down in front of Natasha at the table.

“So you…”

“So I went for sole custody, I made him out to be an unfit father in court to make damn sure I would get sole custody and then when he called me, I threatened him. I said….” She paused looking down at the table. “I said awful things to him. I hurt him, I told him if I ever saw him again I’d call Ross. If I ever saw any of you I’d call Ross. I did that so he’d stay away,” she explained.

“You did it to protect him,” Natasha said in shock. “If he kept his distance...”

“Then he’d be safe. He’d be out of Ross’s grasp. God I hate that man. The things he’s said to Lila and Cooper about Clint,” Laura said angrily. “I could kill him myself,” she said heatedly. “Don’t get me wrong. I was mad at Clint, maybe I still am, but I don’t show that in front of the kids. They know they’re Dad is a hero and I’m not going to let Ross, or anyone else tell them otherwise!”

“I wasn’t wrong about you,” Natasha said sounding relieved. “I have to make a phone call,” she said pulling out her phone and dialing a number she’d memorized, one that was too dangerous to have recorded in her phone.

“Natasha…”

“Go take care of the kids, pack bags for all of you,” Natasha said waving her off as the phone rang.

Laura was going to argue but she trusted Natasha, trusted her with her life, and the kids’ lives so she got up to do what she was told, leaving Natasha alone in the kitchen.

“It’s me,” Natasha said when her call was answered. “I need an extraction,” she said listening to the response on the phone. “One adult, 2 kids, a toddler. Laura, Cooper, Lila and Nathaniel Barton.” She paused to listen to the response. “I know it’s risky, but Ross has them under lock and key.” She paused again to listen to the response. “2 hours. I’ll make sure they’ll be there.” She listened once more. “He said what?” she sighed. “Fine, make it two adults. I’ll make my way there too. I gotta go, I gotta get them ready and get out of here before Ross’s men wake up,” she paused to listen once more. “No, don’t tell him, I’ll see you later.” She hung up right as she heard footsteps running down the stairs.

“Auntie Nat!” Lila said running over and throwing herself into Natasha’s arms. “Tell me it’s not true! Tell me daddy isn’t a bad guy!” She exclaimed as she hugged her tightly. “Mommy said he’s not, but the guys in suits keep saying so!”

“Is your mom ever wrong?” Natasha asked as she hugged Lila tightly, closing her eyes as she relished the young girls hug.

“She roots for USC,” Cooper said standing off to the side, holding the ever growing Nathaniel in his arms.

“About the important stuff,” Natasha amended as Lila let go and she walked over, ruffling Cooper’s hair and kissing Nathaniel’s cheek.

“No,” Cooper and Lila chorused at the same time as Nathaniel shook his head, wanting to be a part of the conversation as well.

“Then listen to her, your father is the farthest thing from a bad guy. He fights with Captain America right?” Natasha said with a smile.

“Yeah,” Lila said with a nod.

“He’s a good guy right?” Natasha asked them.

“He’s the best guy! Next to dad,” Cooper said with a nod.

“Then your dad is good guy,” Natasha said with a smile.

“Are you going to see him soon?” Lila asked her. She pulled out a folded up piece of paper. “Will you give him this? It’s from me and Cooper, even Nate helped,” she said unfolding it. It was a picture of Clint, and all 3 of the kids.

“You hang on to this sweetheart, he’ll love it even more when you give it to him yourself,” Natasha said kissing her forehead.

Laura came downstairs with all their bags, “Natasha, what’s going on?” she asked her.

Natasha wrote down an address and handed it to Laura. “Be there, in 2 hours. I’ll meet you there. I’m getting you out of Ross’s clutches. If you have a tail, I’ll make sure you lose them.”

“Natasha!”

“You’ve got to trust me,” Natasha said and kissed her cheek. “I gotta go. I’ll see you there,” she said before kissing the kids once more and disappearing out the back door into the California sunshine.

Laura looked at the address and blinked a few times. It was all over the news a couple of weeks ago. “Why does Natasha want me to meet her at the Wakandan consulate?” She asked herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The plot thickens. Steve is sad. Laura is confused. And who was Natasha talking to on the phone? Next up. B&E, daring escapes, fighting over the cock...pit. Maybe even a rescue mission.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies for how long this update took. I was a little blocked, and a lot busy with my summer classes. I broke through my block and I hope the results are satisfying.

“You know this is either going to work, or it’s going to get us both killed right?” Clint asked Tony as they made their way on foot to Avengers Tower in Manhattan. They had a plan, sort of. Break in, get the stuff, get out, and don’t get killed. It wasn’t much of plan.

“Or thrown in The Raft,” Tony pointed out helpfully, eyes sparkling behind his sunglasses. They were both in what Clint deemed ‘The Avengers disguise kit’, hoodie, baseball cap and sunglasses. “Friday, just how locked down is the tower?”

“Miss Potts has removed your passcode from everything but your lab and the vault, she’s…” Friday paused, “how should I put this boss,” Friday began to say.

“Less then pleased?” Tony suggested.

“To put it mildly,” Friday told him. “You’ve got a squad of Joint Special Operations Command patrolling the tower with 5 minute check-in windows,” she added.

“Well shit…” Tony said running a hand through his hair. “Orders?” he asked her.

“Capture but kill if necessary,” Friday replied to him. “Boss, I’ve been running the numbers…”

“It needs to be done Friday,” Tony said with conviction.

“But not by you,” Clint cut in after a moment. He didn’t want to think about Tony risking his life in there when he was trained to do this sort of thing.

“What are you talking about?” Tony asked him. “I have to go in there, we need the glasses and Cap’s shield, both of which are in my vault.”

“Tony you’re not an operative, let me go in get the glasses and shield, grab the Quinjet and meet you outside the city,” Clint said to him. “I know the vents like the back of my hand, I can get from the vault to the rooftop without leaving them.”

“No, no way… NOT gonna happen, I’m not letting you just go in there and get yourself killed,” Tony said firmly. “We’re doing this together. I’ve got my hand blasters and there is a suit on the Quinjet.”

“Come on Tony, listen to me,” Clint tried again. “Either of us get spotted, they’re going to have another squad of JSOC jarheads here faster than you can blink,” he said to him. “Going in together is risky.”

“No. This isn’t up for discussion,” Tony said to him. “We’re a team, and we’re going to do this together.” He said with conviction. He wasn’t going to let Clint go in there possibly get caught, possibly get killed, not when they had just figured things out between them. It wasn’t an option.

Clint sighed, “Fine, but if I tell you to get the fuck outta there, you have to listen to me, and call Steve,” he said taking Tony’s hand. “Promise me,” he said to him, squeezing his hand. “Kate’s going to be waiting out front in case we don’t get to the jet.”

Tony nodded, “Alright,” he said to him, with no intention of actually keeping that promise. He wasn’t letting Clint go down alone for this, not when it was his idea, but they couldn’t afford to spend any longer arguing about it.

“You’re an ass…” Clint said knowing Tony was just placating him. “Okay, Friday, can you disable the alarm and get us into the building without them knowing?”

“I can do you one better, I’ll set off an alarm on one of the upper floors and open a window,” Friday replied.

“On your signal then,” Clint said as they neared the secret entrance to the tower. “We have move quickly and you’re going to hate me, but no elevator. It’s too risky.”   
  
“If I can get to a suit, I’m just going to fly up the stairwell,” Tony said with a shrug and a smug grin on his face.

“Cheater,” Clint grumbled to him playfully. “Incapacitate not kill, we can’t afford to knock off one of these guys and piss off the entire armed forces,” he said once they were in position.

“Yeah, we’re trying to get back on the public’s good side, manslaughter isn’t going to help,” Tony said sarcastically.

“Why do I like you again?” Clint asked taking a deep breath.

“I’ll remind you once we’re on the jet,” Tony said with a smirk, blowing him a kiss.

“Are you two done?” Friday interrupted them.

“Yeah,” they chorused together.  

“Wait… Friday?” Tony said sounding thoughtful.

“Boss?”

“As soon as we’re in the building, lock Pepper out. I want full control of the building, I’m not taking any risks.”

“Gotcha boss. The alarm’s been sounded, go,” Friday said to them quickly.

Clint opened the secret entrance, thankful the alarm on the door didn’t sound. “We’ve got about 5 minutes till they figure out it was a false alarm,” he said to Tony as they moved quickly into the tower.

They made their way down to the sub-basement where Tony had an adamantium vault that housed a variety of things like his first suit, the first arc reactor he used, the final arc reactor taken out once his chest had been repaired. It now also housed both Steve’s shield, in a place of honor, as well as the case his brain manipulating glasses were stored in. Tony entered his passcode and used the retinal scanner and the door opened for them and they both ran inside.

“I’ve got the shield,” Clint said grabbing Steve’s shield off its resting spot and testing its weight. He’d thrown it during their first fight against the Ultron bots and he had a feeling it might come in handy as they made their way up the stairs to the roof.

“I’ve got my glasses, lets…” Tony trailed off as he turned around to find a very displeased Pepper Potts staring at him. “Umm… Pep, hi,” he stammered.

“Shit,” Clint cursed as he saw her looking very, very angry.

“You’re not supposed to be here,” Pepper said firmly anger and disappointment radiating off her in waves.

“I know, it’s a long story but…”

“You had to mouth off to Ross didn’t you? Do you know how hard it is to work with these military men prowling around the tower? Do you know how hard it is to convince the investors not only to not lock YOU out of the company but to not lock ME out of the company?” Pepper began to rant. “All of this because you couldn’t just let it go… for once in your life you made the right decision and you threw it away… for who? Barton!”

“I’m right here you know,” Clint said raising an eyebrow at her. “Feelings are kinda hurt now Miss Potts.” He said sarcastically.

“The good guy? I was a stooge for Ross and it cost me everything,” Tony replied to her heatedly, that ‘for once’ comment really stinging and making him realize their split was for the best. “There was NO good guy in this situation Pepper. Not me, not Steve, none of us, but you know who DEFINITELY isn’t a good guy? Ross. He threatened Barton’s kids for fuck’s sake Pep!”

“Friday, alert the Joint Special Operations Command leader that Tony Stark and Clint Barton are here,” Pepper said to her. “I’m doing this because I don’t want you do to something you’re going to regret,” she said softly to Tony. She looked up when she got no response, “Friday?”

“Sorry Pep, I told Friday to lock you out once we were inside the building, I couldn’t risk… well, this,” Tony said to her. “The only thing I regret, is not seeing what was in front of my face sooner,” he said and walked up to her. “Our break is for good Miss Potts, and when this is all over, maybe you’ll understand why I’m doing this,” he said and nodded to Clint. “We’ve gotta go.”

“Excuse me Miss Potts,” Clint said slipping past her.

“Tony! You can’t do this!” Pepper said crossing her arms.

“I already did Pep, I made my decision, I’m putting my family back together, or I’m going to die trying,” Tony said walking past her. “Let’s go,” he said quietly to Clint as they made to the stairwell. “Friday, lock all the stairwell entrances from here to the roof. How many agents are we looking at between here and the roof?”

“Already done boss, you’re looking at 5 between you and the roof and 3 more patrolling the roof,” Friday told him.

“I need to stop in the armory, I need my spare bow. T’Challa broke mine at the airport,” Clint said as they began to climb.

“You’ve got a spare in the Quinjet, it’s not your favorite, but it’ll do until I make you a new one in Wakanda,” Tony said to him and tapped his bracelets to configure to blasters on his hands. “Let’s go,” he murmured, sounding almost distracted, as he thought about what Pepper had said to him.

They made their way quickly and quietly up the stairs, avoiding the windows on each level, making it nearly to the top before they came upon the first of the JSOC agents in the stairwell. Clint disarmed him and knocked him out quickly but the scuffle drew the attention of the others and Clint had to duck behind Steve’s shield to avoid the gunfire. “What happened to capture first?” he grumbled as Tony ducked behind him as well.

“Good question,” Tony said reaching around him and fired a low powered repulser blast to take out the next three agents. “Guess they’re a little trigger happy.”

“4 down,” Clint said looking around as they made their way up further, checking to make sure the agents were alive, but down for the count. He looked up just in time as the 5th agent popped up out of no-where and he threw the shield at him, knocking him stone cold as it bounded off the stairwell walls and came back to him. “Oww… how the hell does Steve catch this thing?”

“Holy shit, you just pulled a Cap move out of your ass,” Tony said in awe of Clint and yes, a little turned on, all thoughts of Pepper gone from his head in a flash as he stared at his boyfriend.

“It’s just a question of angles, I’m good with angles,” Clint said modestly with a shrug.

“I am going to kiss your face off once we make it to the jet,” Tony said licking his lips as he eyed Clint appreciatively.

“Let’s make it to the jet first huh,” Clint said with a smirk as they made their way to the roof finally and caught their breath before making their next move. “Okay, so we know capture is out of the question now,” he said to Tony.

“Do the Cap move again,” Tony suggested as he peaked out the window at the three agents guarding the Quinjet.

“Yeah, and if I calculate wrong, I throw Steve’s shield off the roof, I don’t think he’s gonna be happy with me about that, I don’t want to live only to die from the ‘Captain America is Disappointed in You’ frown.

“Yeah that thing is killer isn’t it,” Tony said with a wince, having been on the receiving end of it too many times.

“So… we go out, behind the shield, you blast em’ down, we make a break for it and hope we don’t get shot?” Clint suggested.

“Whatever you do, do it quickly, they’re breaking the doors down in the stairwell,” Friday reported to them.

“That’s our plan,” Tony said with a nod. “Unlock the door Friday.”

“Good luck Boss,” Friday replied as she unlocked the door.

Clint and Tony ran out the door and worked as a team, Clint shielding them both with the shield as Tony took down the agents once by one. The last one went down as Friday alarmed, “They’ve breeched the stairwell, if you guys are going to make it I suggest you go now.”

“Let’s go,” Clint said running for the jet with Tony as the ramp opened for them and Clint made sure Tony got on first closing the ramp and then tackling him to the ground as the JSOC agents began to open fire on the closing ramp door.

“Oww….” Tony grumbled from under Clint. “A little warning next time?” he said as the ramp closed completely.

“I’m so sorry, I’ll let them shoot you next time,” Clint said getting up, wincing as he felt his side. “Aww bullet, no,” he said with a sigh.   
  
“You got shot!” Tony said jumping to his feet.

“We’ll deal with it later,” Clint said making his way to the cockpit. “We’ve got to get this bird in the air and out of this airspace,” he said holding his side.

“But you got shot!” Tony said following him to the cockpit. “I should fly.”

“My Quinjet,” Clint grumbled at him.

“I do know how to…”

“Mine…”

“Fine. You win. Only because you’re hurt, and incredibly hot when you’re grouchy and possessive,” Tony said sitting down as Clint got them away from the tower and into stealth mode before anyone could see what direction they were going in.

An hour later, Clint had it set on autopilot and finally got up, holding his side. “I think we’re safe for now,” he said with a wince.

“How badly are you hurt?” Tony said jumping at the chance to finally take care of his boyfriend.

Clint pulled his shirt off. “It just grazed me,” he said and nodded at the med kit. “I probably don’t even need stiches.”

Tony grabbed the medkit and began to clean the wound, “I guess I should thank you for saving my life huh,” he said as he patched him up. “We almost didn’t make it.”

“Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades,” Clint said hissing softly as Tony slapped the patch over his wound. “Only thing that counts is we were successful,” he said pulling him up to his feet. “Are you okay?” he asked him in concern. “I know down in the vault… Pepper….” He stammered a bit.

“If I wasn’t convinced it was over before that moment, it sealed the deal for me,” Tony said looking into his eyes.

“I know, but still, she shouldn’t have…”

“It doesn’t matter,” Tony said interrupting him. “She’s part of my past, and you… you are definitely my future,” he said pulling Clint to him. “Didn’t I mention something about kissing your face off earlier?”

“I don’t know,” Clint said with a smirk and a light in his eyes. Tony really had picked him. “Maybe you need to remind me. “

Tony slid his hand behind Clint’s neck and pulled him in for a heated kiss, “Seriously, you throwing the shield,” he whispered against his lips. “Hottest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Clint nipped his lower lip, “And here I thought it was my ass you wanted, not my throwing skills,” he murmured with a smirk.

“Ooh no, that too, that very much too,” Tony said with a laugh.

Clint was about to initiate another kiss when his burner phone rang. “Worst timing ever,” he said before answering the phone. “Barton….”

“Clint, they found me,” Wanda’s shaky voice came over the phone, barely a whisper. “I don’t know if I can hold them off.”

Clint’s heart dropped hearing the fear in her voice. “We’re coming to get you Wanda, we’ll be there in 20 minutes, do whatever you have to, to stay safe,” he said quickly and ran back over to the pilot’s seat.

“What’s going on?” Tony asked in concern.

“They found Wanda,” Clint said as he put all the power into the thrusters and set off on a course for Colorado, where he’d had her hiding out in a safe house he owned in the mountains.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no... cliffhanger!!! Next up. A daring rescue, a few no so daring not-rescues, fun in confined spaces and maybe an Avengers Family Reunion? 
> 
> P.S. Angry Pepper is doing what she thinks is necessary to protect the company, as a good CEO would do, and maybe she's a little bitter at their break up, but mostly she's trying to do what she thinks is right.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So who though Summer classes were a good idea? *rasies hand* Who fried her brain? *raises hand again* So I apologize for how long this update took, especially leaving you on a cliffhanger.

Clint set the jet down a half a mile from where he had his safe house. “Tony, what’d you find on the satellite images?” He asked strapping his quiver to his back. He then grabbed two Icers, guns that would tranquilize but not kill a target. He’d been radiating tension and anger since he got the call from Wanda and could only hope they weren’t too late.

“4 SUV’s 24 agents, the place is surrounded,” Tony said flipping the lid up on his suit. “We have to hurry.”

“Let’s go,” Clint said lowering the ramp of the jet.

Tony took the skies to get a look at what was going on as Clint ran through the forested area surrounding the safe house. He blanched when he got overheard. “Clint… what’s your status?”

“Almost there, why?” Clint asked him, hearing the tone. “Tony, what is it?” he asked as he finally made it to the house and saw them dragging an unconscious Wanda unceremoniously out of the house. “Son of a bitch!”

“Don’t kill… remember, no manslaughter,” Tony said flying down quickly to land beside Clint.

“Tony! Look at her!” he hissed and knocked an arrow only to have Tony grab it and break it. “The fuck!”

“NO KILLING,” Tony hissed at him. “We have to be smart about this, you said so yourself. I know you want to go after them, I do too, but Wanda needs us to recuse her and Steve needs us to not make ourselves even more wanted.”

“Tony!”

“Icers… you have the tranquilizer guns, use them,” Tony said and took to the air and began to take down the agents with low grade repulser blasts.

Clint growled and grabbed both Icers out of their holsters and began to fire on the remaining agents, getting the ones near Wanda and ducking behind cover as they began firing on him. “Tony… I need a distraction, I’m pinned down.”

“Take your aids out, watch for my signal, we’ll meet back at the jet,” Tony said to him.

“You’re brilliant…” Clint said having an idea of what Tony was going to do as he waited for Tony's signal.

“I’ll never get tired of hearing it either,” Tony said and flew by the agents, getting them to concentrate all his fire on them. He fired a flair straight up into the air and continued to fly by agents getting them to focus on him.

Clint pocketed his aids and darted out at the flair and ran straight for Wanda, taking out two agents who were guarding her, jump kicking one in chest, and tumbling to come up behind the 2nd, and put him into a choke hold until he dropped to the ground. He picked up Wanda only to find himself with a wall of agents between him and his escape route. At that moment, all the agents dropped to the ground covering their ears as Tony blasted them with the same soundwave blast that he’d used against The Winter Solider in Geneva and that Rhodey had used on Wanda during the fight at the airport.

“He really is fucking brilliant,” Clint said to himself as he ran for the woods, Wanda cradled in his arms. The soundwaves didn’t affect him because he was already deaf. He sprinted into the woods and into the jet before slipping his aids/comlink back into his ear. “Tony we’re at the jet.”

“On my way,” Tony said firing a disorienting flash bang at the remaining agents before booking it to the jet and inside. “That soundwave didn’t bother you right?”

“Not at all,” Clint said getting them back up into the air and into stealth mode. He set it on autopilot and walked back to the medical gurney Wanda was laying on. “I’ve got to get an IV into her, it’ll flush out whatever they gave her to knock her out.”

“Friday, run a scan, vitals, any injuries that you can detect,” Tony said watching Clint work on Wanda and saw his hands were shaking. “Clint…” he said taking the needle out of Clint’s hand.

“I would have killed them,” Clint said quietly. “I’d have killed all of them…” he said taking a deep breath. “If you hadn’t of stopped me,” he said clenching his fists.

“I know,” Tony said starting the IV for Wanda and taking Clint’s hands in his. “I don’t think any less of you for it,” he said softly. “You know that right?”

“I just have to protect her,” Clint said looking into Tony’s eyes. “She didn’t ask for this; she didn’t ask for any of this. I know, she signed up for Strucker’s experiments willingly, but she just wanted to protect her country and then Ultron happened, and Pietro and…”

“I know,” Tony said squeezing his hands and pulled him in for a gentle kiss. “For as powerful as she is, she’s still just a kid, and worth protecting,” he said and hugged him. “I made a mistake once, seeing her for her powers instead of who she is, and I’ll never make it again.”

Clint took a deep breath and buried his head into Tony’s neck and breathed in his cologne, ridiculously expensive, but totally Tony, cologne. It grounded him. He pulled back when he heard Wanda beginning to stir. “Wanda, hey,” he said taking her hand. “You’re safe. You’re safe,” he whispered softly.

Wanda opened her eyes, “Clint,” she said with a small smile. “I knew you’d come, you always do.” She then saw Tony. “Tony… Clint… what…” she stammered.

“It’s a long story, Tony’s on our side, get some rest and I’ll explain when you wake up more,” Clint said kissing her forehead. “We’ve got to go pick up the rest of our teammates.”

“Tony, I’m sorry I threw cars at you,” she murmured softly.

“I’m sorry I locked you in your room, it’ll never happen again, I swear,” Tony said running his hand over her hair. When she drifted back to sleep he looked at Clint. “Who’s next?”

“Scott’s the closest, think you can put up with him?” Clint asked Tony.

“He doesn’t trust me as far as he could throw me,” Tony said with a sigh.

“Actually he can throw you pretty far when he’s shrunk down, so he probably trusts you less than that,” Clint quipped with a small smirk and an impish look in his eyes.

“Yeah, well Dad always wanted what he couldn’t have, and that suit, was one thing he always wanted to study,” Tony said with a sigh. “Good ol’ Dad, been gone for 25 years and still fucking things up for me.”

“You’re not your father, and Scott will see that, just gotta give it a chance,” Clint said taking his hand again.

“Laura didn’t know a good thing she had in you,” Tony said pulling him close for another kiss.

“Pepper was an idiot,” Clint whispered against his lips.

“I did not need to see that,” Wanda grumbled, sounding like a kid catching her parents kissing.

“Go to sleep,” Clint said with a laugh as he pulled back from Tony.

“Yes dad,” Wanda mumbled and closed her eyes again.

*~~~~~*

It took the better part of the day, but by nightfall they had picked up Scott and Sam, and now the five of them were trying to figure out their best move, Scott butting heads with Tony on nearly every suggestion. Clint was getting trigger happy from the pilot seat as the four other Avengers tried to come up with a plan. Finally, he let out an ear piercing shrill whistle. “Okay, time out, everybody back to their corners. This… This is NOT helping us,” he said turning the seat around after putting it on auto pilot.

“You can’t trust a Stark!” Scott exclaimed.

“You’re a thief and a criminal, and yet I’m hearing you out,” Tony retorted.

“Hey!” Clint said loudly. “Scott. Tony is NOT his father, he’s a better man than that, and we’re not going to get anywhere but back in jail if we can’t WORK! TO-GETHER!” he stressed.

“He put us in jail!” Scott protested.

“I didn’t know they’d take you guys to The Raft okay? If I’d had known, I’d have stopped it!” Tony said throwing his hands up.

“BOSS!” Friday’s voice cut through the bickering. “You’re going to want to hear this,” she said curtly.

“Go, what’d you find?” Tony asked putting a hand up to shut up Scott.

“Ross submitted a proposal to S.H.I.E.L.D. four years ago after New York, to put the Avengers under the control of the U.S. Armed Forces. His argument was that the military created Steve, and the military created Hulk, therefore they own them.” Friday told them.

“What was the S.H.I.E.L.D. response?” Tony asked her.

“Director Fury told him to get bent, to put it mildly,” Friday replied.

“So, this has been in the works for years,” Sam said from where he was sitting.

“Got anything else for me?” Tony asked.

“Vision has managed to get into Ross’ financials, there was an undisclosed payment of 50,000 dollars made to someone, shortly before the Laos fiasco,” Friday added. “We’re still tracing the money, but initial indications link it to a shell company that Crossbones’ group of mercenaries were funded out of.”

“Son of a bitch,” Tony said running his hand through his hair. “You guys were set up.” He said to Sam and Wanda.

“Why would he do this?” Wanda asked in confusion.

“To force our hand,” Clint said with a sigh. “If the U.N. was on the fence about the Sokovian Accords, a bad out that put us in poor light would force them to adapt the accords, there would be a public outcry otherwise.”

“Especially if Ross knew Wakandan aid workers would be in Laos, if any of them were hurt, which they were, it would be bad form to tell a rich, emerging country that their people were simply casualties of war,” Sam pointed out.

“We still need more information Friday,” Tony said to her.

“We’re working on it Boss,” Friday replied.

“Friday? How’s Rhodey?” Tony asked after a minute.

“He’s moved into the V.A. facility in New York City, Vision though it’d be best he be kept out of the loop so that Ross stays away from him,” Friday replied.

“That’s not going to work,” Clint said after a minute. “Rhodey is a weakness for you Tony, for all of us. In the loop, out of the loop, on the loop, Ross is going to get to him and use him as bait.”

“Clint’s right, we have to get to Rhodey before Ross does,” Sam agreed with a nod.

“Then we’re going to New York,” Tony said pulling out his Starkphone and texted Rhodey.

_You okay?_

_WTF is going on Tony?_

_We’re coming to get you. Be ready in an hour._

_No. I am out. I am so far out I am in another galaxy Tony._

_Think Ross is going to buy that?_

_Fuck. Fine. I’ll be ready._

_Not my best friend for nothing Rhodey._

_Be careful Tony_

“Rhodey will be ready for us when we get back to New York,” Tony said putting away his phone.

“You’re okay with going after the guy who ordered you shot out of the sky?” Scott asked Sam.

“It was a smart move, disable my jet pack so I couldn’t pursue,” Sam said with a shrug. “You have to understand Lang, none of us hate each other. We were all fighting for what we thought was right. Sometimes that means each other, but I was never out to hurt anyone on Tony’s side.”

“None of us were,” Clint added. “We were all trying to do the right thing.”

“I was trying to keep Ross from sending a squad of JSOC guys after Steve, Sam, and Bucky, Ross flat out said he would kill them if he had too, I was trying to prevent that from happening,” Tony said to Scott. “We’ve all had our differences, but we were a team. We were a family. The only family I had, and I want them back.” He sighed. “I’m not my father. Maybe I was, for a long time, but I’m different now. Do I want to see your suit? Hell fucking yes I do… because I want to understand it, maybe even improve on it, but that’s all on you. Hank only knew my father, hell, I even get why Hank hated him. It wasn’t a hard thing to do all things considered.”

“Maybe Hank was wrong about you,” Scott said thoughtfully, hearing Tony’s side of the story for the first time.

“Tony is a good man,” Wanda said to Scott. “I have been into his mind, seen his fears, I trust him with my life.”

“The only way we’re going to do this, the only way we’re going to win, to get our freedom back is to work together, if you can’t work with Tony, then stay hidden and we’ll sort this out without you Scott. But Tony would take a bullet for any of us, and we would for him,” Clint said firmly.

“No I’m in,” Scott said with a nod. “Pax?” he said offering his hand to Tony.

“Pax,” Tony said shaking his hand.

“Great now let’s go get Rhodey, and really put our family back together by meeting up with Steve,” Clint said going back to the controls to head for New York.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Daring rescues! Disagreements! Make ups! Oh my! Next up. Rhodey is so done... Clint is reunited with his family, Tony's eyes go green. Intrigue! Jealousy! Fixing the Bucky... eventually.


End file.
